powerful compared to other hurricanes but the pressure is dropping now. down to 951 millie bars from 960. last time we had an update three hours ago. it does have rain with it on the northwestern side of it. the leading edge of some of the rain is already into the carolinas, southeastern virginia and right along our eastern shore. category 1 hurricane, 75 mile per hour winds will continue on a northeasterly track today. as we get into tomorrow and tomorrow evening, it does look like the landfall zone will be close to us from near chincoteague to long island. it could come ashore anywhere in this zone. looks like the timing would be around 8:00 p.m. on monday and then into tuesday morning. we'll have the heaviest rain and the strongest winds coming in, again, late monday, perhaps after sunset till around dawn on tuesday. right now heavy rains on the eastern shore. slowly creeping off to the west. just a few sprinkles around the metro area. this is a multifaceted storm. i'll get it sorted out for you.

the latest forecast coming up in a couple of minutes. angie and richard. >> tom, thank you. >> several states of emergency are in effect along the mid-atlantic and the northeast coa coast. news 4's erica gonzalez is live in rehoboth beach. what is it like this morning? >> shelters are slated to open today at noon. we will be meeting with the governor of delaware at one of those locations at that time. take a look at the water. it's just inching into the board walk. it is now about to 3 feet above the normal level. we are just about 100 feet away from the board walk. it is inching its way over there. at 10:00 a.m. we are expected to have an update from emergency officials. they're going into a meeting. we should hear the latest from them on how rehoboth beach is keeping up with sandy. again, water levels 2 to 3 feet

above normal. sea witch festivals have been canceled. the mandatory evacuation in place for anybody tt is within 3/4 mile of the beach and delaware bay. you have mandatory evacuations in place until 8:00 this evening. we cannot remind you enough about the severity of the situation and for you to go out and buy supplies if you have not already done so and prepare to begin leaving the coastal region. we still spotted some people out here this morning, trying to take pictures, coming out for morning jogs and just taking a glimpse at mother nature. >> we came down for the weekend and got here on friday and heard, you know, sandy and everything. we're still going to go. took a chance and we're leaving now, we're heading back. right now, you know, pennsylvania, they're saying they're in a state of emergency and all that. we're going to take our chances, hope we get back safely. >> we've also got to mention we

are anticipating a full moon tonight, which is going to make for even higher water conditions. look at this. just inching in, the sea foam. about 100 feet away from the board walk. live at rehoboth beach. back to you guys. >> erica and your team down in rehoboth beach, thank you so much. stay safe out there. just south of there, city leaders in ocean city, maryland, are asking anyone planning to visit to postpone their trip and asking residents to secure their homes and prepare to evacuate. they expect severe flooding in low-lying areas and power outages that could last for several days. >> people living in the district can pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding. they will be handhooded out at the tacoma park recreation center. d.c. residents can stop by from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to pick up the sandbags. there's a five-bag limit per car. one fairfax community is one

of the many that is hoping it won't be as bad as the flooding and power outages that they've seen this year. we found store shelves just about empty at one ace hardware store. the chairwoman says she's hopeful there's not going to be any 911 outage like there was during the summer storms. >> lots of people have been sending us questions about the storm on facebook and twitter. here are just a few of them. first one from facebook, with these storms colliding, do we have a chance for tornados? and thomas here to answer some of these. >> unlike other tropical systems that come inland earlier in the season we have warm air around. this time around we have cold air around. in fact, could be producing snow out of the mountains. when you have that much cold air around, i doubt very much we'll have any tornado. >>s the next question is a travel question coming in from twitter, asking should i be worried cong back to d.c.

after the redskins game in pittsburgh? will rain hinder my commute? >> coming from the west, the game is during the afternoon hours. maybe you'll be coming back between 6:00 and :00 p.m. you might be running into a few passing rain showers. still, not a lot of rain or wind yet this sunday evening. you should get home safely from the game. >> let's hope the redskins win. last question from martha on facebook. to give us a sense of what 60 plus miles per hour winds might mean, can you indicate what that could move? >> certainly large pumpkins can get rolling around. with a gust of wind they could be rolling into the street or your yard. big planters, those things are heavy, low to the ground. those will probably be all right. we have to be concerned with winds gusting over 60 miles an hour, monday night into tuesday morning, some of the older trees, the trees that are rotted on the inside, those are the ones that are most vulnerable.

with ground getting soaked by a lot of rain, that ill with be the most vulnerable thing. wind damage will be the older trees, the weaker limbs coming down. >> to be concerned with, items outside, they become projectile. doesn't matter how light it is. if it's coming at that speed it could cause damage. >> get the lawn furniture in, anything that weighs less than 100 pounds. get that inside. it certainly could be picked up by 65 mile-an-hour winds which we could have monday night into tuesday morning. i'll have details on that, the wind and flooding potential, too, coming up. >> thanks, tom. send us your questions on twitter, at news 4 today with the #sandydc. we'll try to answer as many as we can. >> we continue to track sandy all morning. remember we also have complete coverage of hurricane sandy on our website, nbcwashington.com.

you can see the latest track and sign up for breaking news and weather alerts. 9:06 is the time. we also want to remind you we're streaming our news cast and news breaks online throughout the duration of the storm. >> watch us on nbcwashington.com if you lose power. >> still to come this morning, the finish line of the marine corps marathon and also the earthquake. we're watching developments there. sumtd warning in effect for parts of the west coast. here along the east coast, we are

you are watching news 4 today. the streets of arlington and dc are filled with thousands of runners right now. >> the 37th annual marine corps marathon got under way just over an hour ago.

keith russell joins us now at the finish line. it seems like the energy is awesome, keith. >> the energy is high and it's getting even higher, right behind me you're seeing the finishers of the 10k. let's take you back to the start of the marathon. 7:55 this morning and they were off. 30,000 people running in this year's marathon. 54 countries represented. every state in this country represented. we expect the first person to cross the line around 10:15. now, back to the 10k. the first person who crossed the line in this year's 10k is a man by the name of glenn collins. he comes to us from the state of michigan. he's run in several marathons before and to finish first, whether it's the 10k or the actual marathon, the distance, that's not the story. what he's running from, what everyone is running for, that is

the story. >> it's an honor. being here the last few years working the expos, to know the history of this race, with the marathon and 10k. it's an honor. it's a privilege to be the first guy to cross the line this year. >> reporter: we are running from our past. we are running into the future and we are running for those who put their lives on the line for us every day. hopefully coming up around 10 till 10:00, we'll hear from a young lady from falls church, virginia who has a special tie-in to the marines. we're at the finish line of the 37th annual marine corps marathon. >> there are road closures throughout northern virginia and the district as runners make their way along the course. take a look at the course map right here. >> some of the big closures right now, the memorial bridge, parts of route 110, wilson

boulevard, the gw parkway, wes witness avenue, independence avenue and pennsylvania avenue. >> many of the roads will be closed until at least noon and some as late as 5:30 tonight. >> time right now is :13. the east coast is bracing to are a powerful hurricane and out west, a tsunami warning. find out what caused the threat. >> plus early voting hits a few snags in the district. what you need to know to avoid confusion when you cast your vote. and all eyes on sandy, the category 1 hurricane now with 75 mile-per-hour winds. what to expect in the d.c.

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building on our manufacturing boom; boosting american-made energy; reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where... we can, and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. and ending the war in afghanistan, so we can... do some nation-building here at home. that's the right path. so read my plan, compare it to governor romney's... and decide which is better for you. it's an honor to be your president... and i'm asking for your vote... so together, we can keep moving america forward. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. tracking sandy this moing. we have live pictures from rehoboth beach, already feeling the effects of this monster storm. the category 1 hurricane has its sights set on the east coast and coastal communities like rehoboth beach and many through north carolina and new jersey are bracing for impact to see

where this storm might make landfall. our area may not get a direct hit from sandy but we could still feel the effects. >> many cities and counties are putting resources in place. joining us is prince george's county executive. >> thank you for having me. >> you've started the process of notifying residents. you're pushing out alerts by social media and e-mail? >> that's correct. people can get updates on what's going on by going to the prince george's county website and signing up for notify me and they'll get updates on the hour of what's going on. also, they can use our -- we have an app county click, they can download that app and get updates. we've been preparing since last week for sandy coming here. we open our emergency office up this morning at 10:00, we'll open it up it will be operating through. we have our 311 call center that will be open today. normally it's not open on

sundays. so we can direct people on how they can get information. >> let me ask you about schools. there's been talk about closing schools sometime this week. what's the plan. >> tomorrow schools in prince george's county are closed. >> that was already planned? >> that was already plan. i don't know if they had a crystal ball and knew sandy was coming but they're already closed. after that we'll coordinate with the school system to make sure we get the noifk otification ou early enough so parents know about the closure. we'll do that coordinating with the school system. >> that will become a decision that comes tomorrow, probably. >> probably late tomorrow night and get the full effect of what's going on. the one thing we want to coordinate with the school system is the ability not just for the schools to be on but coordinating getting the children back and forth to school. >> there is early voting still going on today? >> yes, there is early voting going on today. the polls are open. we encourage people to go out and vote early just in case the

storm comes. polling places are closed tomorrow. >> there's a big concern about power outages, especially after the summer storm. what has your communication been with pepco and other electric companies about what they're doing? >> after the last disaster, what we did was we started coordinating, not only pepco but the other utility companies in getting their strategy moving forward. it was good to see pepco doing early preparation. we saw that this past week, bringing in workers ahead of time. we're preparing as best as possible for the storm. our offices, we have a pepco representative that sits in our emergency command office with us we get up to the minute what's going on with pepco. >> have they told you anything about how long outages could last? >> it's hard to tell without having the storm hit and seeing how much damage we get from the winds and everything else. by having a representative there, the same way with consolation, have a representative in our center.

>> thank you for stopping in early. keep those cell phones charged, make sure you have a way to have juice in them so you'll be able to contact the emergency numbers in need be. >> we will be checking in with all the counties throughout the day. stay with us for more information from them. these are live pictures now of what it looks like. the calm before the storm. let's go to tom kierein to find out the latest. >> where's sandy right now? >> overcast here in washington. a few sprinkles. sandy is a huge storm, affecting weather from new england all the way down to the florida coast. heavy surf along the coast right now. over the last three hours, pressure has dropped about 10 millibars. a lot of heavy rain, already the leading edge of the rain bands from sandy are inland in eastern north carolina, southeastern virginia, virginia tide water and up towards our eastern shore. it has winds of 75 miles an

hour, category 1 storm, tracking northeast today. then a northerly track during the daylight hours tomorrow. tomorrow, late afternoon and evening, it will take a sharp turn to the west and accelerate. it is possible it could make landfall through here, anywhere from here to assateague, virginia. perhaps by about midnight, 2:00 a.m. or so on tuesday, getting very near the chesapeake bay and then just north of our area, early tuesday morning. here's a close-up view of the heavy downpours. they're getting persistently all morning long here on the eastern shore. it's gradually creeping off to the west. we have a few sprinkles. some of the heavier rain should make it in here by late this afternoon and this evening. ahead of that. it's cool, upper 50s to near 60. we'll hold steady hovering around 60 for much of the

daylight hours. 5 to 10 inches of rain likely in this flood watch zone, sunday night into tuesday and this does cover all of northern virginia, the district and just about all of maryland and the eastern shore and into extreme eastern part of west virginia. the biggest problem, though, are the gusts of wind to 60 to 65 miles an hour, noon monday to 8:00 p.m. tuesday. all counties under this high wind warning, the ones in this color. by monday morning around 6:00 in the morning, heavy rain throughout most of virginia, maryland and the district. we'll likely have real problems with flooding beginning monday morning into monday afternoon. the heaviest rains by monday, 6:00 p.m. begin to move off to our west. look at this blue zone. it's a zone of potential snow. we could have snow in south central and southwest virginia and then as colder air moves into the system, we could get snow in our western northern suburbs. this is by tuesday morning. this storm is multifaceted.

the rain tapers off by wednesday morning. this area in red is the highest impact zone. this is what we'll likely see. most of the power outages from virginia to new england with strong winds, a lot of coastal flooding, too. we could have the coastal areas, as much as 4 to 8 feet above high tide times which the next high tide is around 7:30 this evening. for the afternoon, highs hovering near 60 and the showers and wind increasing. as i mentioned, again, it's going to be the strongest winds and the heaviest rains monday night into tuesday morning and then improving toward the end of the week, storm team 4 seven-day outlook, sun back thursday, friday and saturday. still cool. back to you. >> thanks, tom. this morning, several people are heading to the grocery store to stock up before the storm. >> we have more on the rush to prepa prepare. >> reporter: it's a test of the

loge barometer . there's not much that looks different than any other sunday except the shelves where the bottled water is are pretty much empty. there are several pallets of water that were just delivered and placed throughout the storm where they normally aren't. there's plenty of water here and lots of people are buying it. not a big rush as you can see. we caught up with one woman who was out of the country and came back in just today in the middle of all this storm preparation. she didn't have a lot of time to get prepared. as she tells us, she's prepared nonetheless. >> bottled water, nonperishables and stocking the new place up. >> reporter: batteries? >> batteries yesterday. yes. candles, yes, we're all set to go. >> reporter: now, she's actually moving to a new apartment. that's like the worst possible scenario, moving is never fun.

doing it in the midst of a storm is quite a challenge. good luck to her and everybody else who is getting prepared. live in columbia heights. back to you. we are learning now information about that strong earthquake to struck the western coast of canada. so far it appears the quake did not cause major damage in british columbia but it did trigger several tsunami warnings that have been downgraded to advisories this morning. a rare 7.7 magnitude quake struck last night in the queen charlotte islands area. the first waves came ashore in hawaii, smaller than originally expected. the governor of hawaii says all the coastal beaches and harbors will remain closed as a precaution. a tsunami advisory also remains in effect for northern california. ten people had to go to the hospital after a car hit two metro buss in northwest d.c. a cadillac on new hampshire avenue -- say a cadillac on new hampshire avenue hit a metro bus

head on. eight people on board were injured, police say the crash caused the cadillac to hit another metro bus traveling in the opposite direction. two people on board were taken to the hospital along with the cadillac driver. police say none of the injuries are life-threatening. >> hundreds of people voted early, causing problems at polling places in the district. people waited in long lines to cast their vote in the election. eight early voting sites opened for the first time yesterday across the district. many voters say workers at these polling sites were not prepare for the large crowds. >> we've just been told that it's going to take us a little bit longer because there are only two voting machines that are working in ward 8. if you were in a different ward you could go vote over there in ward 8. >> the line is wrapped all the way around. they're like take attic et tick sit down. we'll call you when we're ready.

>> they didn't have the races programmed in the machine. the polling places are closed today but will re-open tomorrow at 8:30. the lines stretched around the block at several polling places in prince george's county. some people say they waited as long as four hours to cast their ballot on saturday. >> president obama and mitt romney are cancelling campaign events in states affected by sandy, including several in virginia. governor romney was scheduled to make three stops in virginia today. instead, he'll campaign in another hotly contested state, ohio. the president is cancelling a monday event in northern virginia and leaving for florida today rather than tomorrow. the vice president and first lady have also canceled some events because of weather. >> the time right now is 9:27. computer models show sandy will likely make landfall north of the d.c. region. coming up, we'll take you live to the jersey shore to check out conditions there.

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and now, from washington's leading news station, this is news 4 today. tick tock, right now thousands of runners are trying to finish the marine corps marathon just as we start to feel the first effects of hurricane sandy. tom kierein is tracking the storm's path this morning. i'm angie gaffe. welcome to news 4 today. >> i'm richard jordan. let's go to tom. >> sandy is a huge hurricane affecting the entire eastern seaboard. you can see right around here, the center of circulation, there's an increased growth now of convectional, increased growth of thunderstorms and you can see this now beginning to really dig deep and develop. out ahead of that, way out of ahead of that, a couple hundred

miles, category 1 hurricane with 75 mile per hour wones. as it comes inland as a strong post-tropical area of low pressure coming ashore anywhere between chincoteague and long island, it's a huge area. it could be coming ashore here. it looks like the timing will be after sunset on monday, perhaps around 8:00 p.m. or so, coming ashore then, then moving north of the metro area, slowly into monday night and tuesday morning. we'll have the worst wind and heaviest rain. i'll sort it out for you coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you, tom. we're tenning to track sandy as the storm moves towards the east coast. >> danielle lee is live in cape may, new jersey with the latest from there. danielle? >> reporter: good morning, andy and richard. now that the sun is out you may be able to see behind me the waves on the beach just churning. people trying to figure out how high the tide is going to rise

as hurricane sandy gets closer to us. take a walk with me. you can sew to my right they're closing up. making sure all the windows are covered ahead of the storm. home owners will be doing the same, trying to protect their property. there's a mandatory evacuation order here as well as many other cities here in new jersey, also connecticut, delaware. people are saying this storm seriously, getting ready. last night when i was at the store they were pretty much out of the nonperishables that you typically get when preparing for an emergency. absolutely no bottled water. the canned goods were light and batteries, flashlights, all of those things had been flying off the shelves as people got ready for the storm. people know it's going to be big. and they do not want to be caught off guard. also vacationers who were here last night, even here for a wedding are rushing to get out the door this morning.

they know airports will be cancelling flights, train is ofs will be canceled. they know they need to get out and get home for safety. i'm danielle lee, back to you. >> thank you. ahead of sandy's arrival, dulles and reagan national airports say they plan to remain open. they're warning passengers to check with their airlines before coming to the airport. here's a live look at reagan national. the airport authority says passengers should check their airline about any flight delays, cancellations or adjustments to rebooking policies. they say they also plan to use twitter to retweet any announcement any announcement from the major airlines. airlines are letting many passengers make changes without paying a fee. amtrak has canceled some of its service for today and tomorrow. some of the affected routes include d.c. amtrak says more cancellations are possible and it is contacting affected passengers, offering them refunds or vouchers. you can see which routes are affected online. we have the link for you at

nbcwashington.com. there are currently no changes to metro rail or bus service. but that could change. the transit agency says that with sustained winds, travel times could grow longer for trains in above ground areas. the storm could also slow down metro bus service. they are urging riders to sign up for updates via next message or e-mail. we'll continue tracking sandy all morning. we have complete coverage on nbcwashington.com. there you can see latest track and also sign up to get breaking news and weather alerts. >> time right now is 9:35. the new national christmas tree is settling into place this morning. your first look at the holiday tree and how you can see it light up in person. >> we have you covered alead of sandy's arrival. get the weather app from itunes get the weather app from itunes or the android market t

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you're watching news 4 today. this morning, our wednesday's child has really had to move around more than most folks do in a life tomb. she's moved around from one unwilling caretaker to another since she was 5 years old. now at 17, ramad axa needs the e and commitment of a family more than ever. here's barbara harrison. ♪ every now and then i >> 17-year-old ramada just wants the love of a family, a mom, a dad, something that eluded her for most of her life. >> ramata was born in nigeria. her mother brought her to usa when she was 5 years old and return back to nigeria and left

her with family members. and just never really had a stable placement. >> she loves to sing and was excited to have a special lesson here at the international school of music, with voice teacher megan mccall and guitarist casey smith. what do you think you'd like to do with your singing? >> i don't know. i just sing just to do it. probably just a hobby. >> reporter: she's really hoping to become a doctor someday. >> i took biology last year. >> how did you do. >> i did good. it's my favorite subject. >> reporter: right now she says she feels like she needs a family. >> i'd like to be adopted just to be with a new family, just to get loved, just to have somebody to go back to. >> reporter: ten months ago ramada gave birth to a baby girl, someone to love her, she says. ramada is determined to be a devoted mom ♪ i will always love you

>> reporter: barbara harrison, news 4 for wednesday's child. if you have room in your home and your heart for ramada or another child who's waiting, call our special adoption hot line. that number is 1-888-to adopt me. or logon to nbcwashington.com. and right now, the lead runners in the 37th annual marine corps marathon are almost three-quarters of way done with the popular race. >> it started just about an hour and a half ago. pretty unbelievable, keith. he's at the finish line right now waiting for them to arrive. how are things going out there? it looks like the wind has picked up. >> reporter: the wind has picked up but it's not bothering my hair. >> looking good. >> reporter: yes, the wind has picked up a bit. we're having a blast. everyone here is having a blast. what a day. what a day to honor those who serve our country. the first wheelchair participants have crossed the line in just over an hour and 40

minutes. the participants came through not long ago. the winner in this year's 10k on the men's side, blake collins from michigan. he won in 46 minutes and 30 seconds. on women's side, suzanne that sullivan won in around 47 1/2 minutes. she's from falls church, virginia and this race is near and dear to her heart. she has a close tie-in with the marines. >> it means a lot to me. my boyfriend of six years is a marine infantry officer. he just started -- he's finishing the infantry officer course right now. it's kind of brought it home for me a lot. i really respect the military. i'm extremely grateful for what they do for us. it was an incredible experience for me. very humbling. >> that was suzanne that sullivan. the marathon runners took off at 7:55 this morning. that includes storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell running in his third straight marine

corps marathon. we expect the first marathon runner for the men to cross the line around 10:15. we expect the first marathon runner for the women to cross the line around 10:25. we will bring you reaction from the men's and women's winner coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00. guys, what a day it has been. they talk about the new york city marathon, the boston marathon, the chicago marathon. but there's nothing like the marine corps marathon. and that's why they call it [ inaudible ]. >> thank you, keith. it looks like it was cloudy out there. >> that's right. we have been tracking sandy all morning long. let's check in with tom for the latest on the storm. >> sandy is a huge hurricane, it is intensifying this morning and pushing a lot of rain and wind into north carolina. here's a live view of nags head right now. look at those enormous waves crashing in there. we have continuous coverage on

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we're tracking sandy. states of emergency declared in nine states and the district of columbia. people along the east coast are bracing for this category 1 hurricane scheduled to make landfall along the u.s. east coast soon. we'll continue monitoring this situation. >> we've got live picks from new jersey now. you can start seeing the affects of the seaside communities all along east coast are the first ones to get a taste of sandy. that is expected to widen. we may have lost that picture. it's coming in and out in these stormy conditions. let's check in with tom. >> it continues to spin away off the carolina coast. we look at the radar image. there's a lot of rain along the carolina coast. yes, that rain stretches all of the way up into southeastern

virginia, virginia tidewater, farther north into the northern neck and on the eastern shore. and it has been deepening. in fact, the pressures dropped ten mil. bars in the last ten hours. it remains a hurricane with winds at 75, 80 miles an hour. tonight it takes a turn to the north and tomorrow taking a sharp left turn and heading inland and coming ashore tomorrow evening. timing on that does look like it will be coming ashore anywhere between assateague to long island. coming ashore perhaps around 8:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. monday is the latest timing on that. as we get into monday afternoon and evening, into tuesday morning it does move inland, after that, after midnight tuesday, that's when we'll have the strongest winds and heaviest rains. here's a close-up view of that first heavy rain banned from sandy. it is producing really heavy rain right now from the eastern

northern neck just about to come in to southern maryland in st. mary's county. it's been raining pretty heavy up toward kent county. that is gradually tracking its way farther east and right around the metro area we've had a few scattered sprnks this morning. the overcast is continuing to lower and temperatures holding steady in the 50s to around 60 degrees throughout the entire region as well as shenandoah valley, mid-50s there with the cloud cover from sandy all over the entire region. flood watch is out for all of virginia, the district, all of maryland, eastern shore, all these counties in green, 5 to 10 edges of rain, the higher amounts in washington. in addition, we have a high wind warning in effect, noon monday to 8:00 p.m. tuesday. it includes all these counties in color, just about all of virginia, the district, all of maryland for the high wind warning. gusts 60 to 65 miles an hour. here's the timing on the storm. as we get into sunday after-nan and evening, this sunday evening, it does look like some

of the heavier rain bands will begin to make their way into the metro area, this is as of 5:00 p.m. sunday. by monday morning, by 6:00 a.m., some of the heavy rain bands coming in and we'll have flooding beginning tomorrow morning. and then the heaviest rains by monday evening by 6:00 or so, beginning to move off to our west. look at this blue zone. this is an area of potential snow. yes, they storm could be producing snow. they could get a foot of heavy, wet snow. look at this. this blue area, showing a zone of potential, wet snowflakes, probably not accumulating at all. certainly something to marvel at. this is a tuesday morning around 7:00, 8:00 in the morning. west snowflakes west and north of the metro area. this area in red, this is the zone where we'll see the most power outages, including virginia, the district, maryland and into new england. this is the zone where we'll have millions of people without power due to the strong winds, a lot of coastal flooding and the heavy rain and the power outages

lingering, unfortunately, prepare for extended long-term power outages for much of the rest of week. by late morning, into the 50s and 60s hovering around that temperature. the heavy rains move in monday morning off and on through the day monday, into monday night and tuesday morning and the winds as wewind s will increase. dawn on tuesday we'll have the winds gusting to 60, 65 miles an hour. that's when we'll get the power outages. those outages will be lingering, unfortunately much of the rest of the week. it looks like it will taper off, the winds die down on tuesday evening and the rain tapers off wednesday morning. sun back thursday, friday and saturday. angie and richard? >> tom, thanks. >> you may notice a new national christmas tree near the white house. a 28-foot colorado blue spruce was planted yesterday.

you may remember a wind storm knocked down old national christmas tree in 2011 and replacement died in may. register for the free lottery to take part in the lighting of the national christmas tree on december 6th. go to nbcwashington.com and search christmas tree for a link to the national parks service. hopefully the winds we were anticipating from sandy won't knock this one down. >> we're streaming our news casts and news breaks online throughout the duration of the storm. find us at nbcwashington.com. if you do lose power. the time right now, 9:52. you're watching news 4 today. these are live pictures now from the jersey shore. one of the coastal communities that anticipating sandy's arrival. we are back with another check of

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hurricane sandy continues to churn and we continue to track its latest movement. >> let's go to tom kierein for

the latest on the storm. tom? >> first, heavy rain bands from sandy are already approaching washington. they're on eastern shore slowly creeping across the bay. these heavy rain bands have really been nearly stationary over the last several hours but are now beginning to creep farther to the west. right now around washington, a few sprinkles. let's give you a time line on the strongest winds. this is as of 6:00 a.m. monday. winds 25 to 30. monday evening, by 6:00 p.m. we could have gusts 50 to 60 miles an hour in washington, points east and points west, too, 40 to 50 miles an hour. 2:00 a.m. on tuesday, we could have 65, perhaps 60 to 65 to 50 mile-per-hour gusts continuing. the winds quickly diminish, back down to peak gusts 25 to 40 miles an hour. it will really diminish quickly. it's going to be that time monday afternoon into tuesday morning that's really going to

be causing all of the power outages and prepare for long duration power out, unfortunately, beginning late monday and the power may be out for days, unfortunately for many of us. stay with us. we'll have frequent updates throughout the day. we'll have frequent cut-ins throughout this sunday afternoon. >> our coverage doesn't stop here. >> we will have live breaking news as it happens here throughout the day and a special edition after news 4 today at 4:00 a.m. >> we'll carry press conferences >> w[ minto ] you know,nferences those ads saying mitt romney

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